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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123520">Enigmatic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnetoTheMagnificent/pseuds/MagnetoTheMagnificent'>MagnetoTheMagnificent</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Flufftober 2020 [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Omens - Neil Gaiman &amp; Terry Pratchett</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crowley Has an Anxiety Disorder (Good Omens), Crowley has OCD, Crowley's Flat (Good Omens), Crowley's Plants (Good Omens), Neighbors, Other, POV Outsider, Protective Aziraphale (Good Omens), Soft Aziraphale (Good Omens), Soft Crowley (Good Omens), Sweet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:36:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123520</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnetoTheMagnificent/pseuds/MagnetoTheMagnificent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Meet.....The lady that lives in the flat downstairs (Crowley's neighbour)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Flufftober 2020 [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Enigmatic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evelynn Appelbaum, Evie to her friends, had lived in Mayfair for the past thirty years, and in London all her life. She had never married, never had children, and dedicated her days to her three beloved cats. When the building came under new management, no one was brave enough to approach her about the new no-pets rule. </p><p>Evie was an observer, and on the whole was very good at making assumptions about people. She had mapped out pretty accurate ideas of all her neighbours, and she had taken a liking especially to one. He lived in the flat above her, and for the most part, didn't seem to have much of a social life. He wasn't home very often, true, but he never brought anyone with him when he did return to his flat. Most young men his age were far louder and more social than sweet Anthony. It was just him and his plants, and Evie had a soft spot for him. </p><p>Like her, he was enigmatic, different. She also suspected he was queer, like her. It was a sort of empathy she had for him. The last ten years seemed to have been rough for Anthony. Whenever she saw him in the hall, he looked stressed and on-edge, like a small animal being hunted. He yelled at his plants more often, and from her own flat she could hear his compulsive pacing. Sometimes, he'd go days without leaving his flat, and other times, he wouldn't return for weeks. She was dreadfully worried about him. </p><p>Evie used to work at a restaurant, and in her retirement she continued cooking. It brought people together, she found. She'd often cook a little extra and walk upstairs to give them to Anthony. He was always polite and would mumble a quiet 'thank you.' She hoped he actually ate it, as he always did look a little scrawny. </p><p> </p><p>One day, as she was sitting watching Golden Girls, a program she had suggested to Anthony, she heard Anthony's pacing grow more erratic. She also heard loud footsteps coming down the hall, and gruff voices calling out Anthony's name. They didn't sound friendly.<br/>
Now, Evie was not a large woman, but she had fought off her fair share of coppers in the sixties, and she could hold her ground. She grabbed her rolling pin and ran out into the vestibule, preparing to defend poor, helpless Anthony. She wasn't prepared for what she would see. </p><p>There were two men, or at least what might have been men, if they weren't grotesque, terrifying reptilian creatures. They certainly weren't human, they reeked of wrongness and evil, and they were coming towards her. She screamed, and they knocked her aside. </p><p> </p><p>When she came to, it was eerily silent. She steadily stood back up, and looked around. The... <i>creatures</i>...were gone. Worse, she couldn't hear Anthony pacing in the flat above. </p><p>Her heart racing, she rushed upstairs to Anthony's flat. The door was ajar, and her heart sank. Anthony never left his door open. She carefully pushed the door open, and walked inside his flat. It was ransacked. </p><p>"Anthony?" she called out, but there was no response. </p><p>She searched every room, but he was gone. </p><p> </p><p>He must have been taken, she concluded with terror. She tried calling the police, but all their lines were busy. Something about an accident on the M-25. Worry set in quickly. It was like a perfect storm. </p><p>Hours passed, and still no sign of Anthony. If she hadn't seen Anthony's destroyed flat herself, she would have thought she had dreamt it. Certainly there had to be a reasonable explanation for the lovecraftian appearance of those creatures. A trick of the light, perhaps. She waited by the front door. All the other residents returned from work, unaware of what she had witnessed. It was dreadful. There must be someone she could tell. </p><p> </p><p>It was late at night when the door opened once more, and two men walked in. The taller man was round and intelligent looking, and he had a kind but tired face. Leaning on him was, thank all the powers, <i>Anthony</i>. </p><p>She gasped, and rushed towards the couple. </p><p>Anthony looked a mess. His suit was torn, and he looked positively exhausted. His companion didn't look that much better. </p><p> </p><p>When she approached them, the other man seemed to stand stiffer, and stood in front of Anthony protectively. </p><p>"S'alright, angel," Anthony said quietly. </p><p>"She's my neighbour." </p><p>The other man seemed to relax a little. </p><p>"I'm Evelynn Appelbaum," Evie said once she remembered her manners. </p><p> </p><p>Anthony's companion bowed his head quickly. </p><p>"Azariah Fell," he said. </p><p>Anthony yawned and gripped Azariah's hand. He looked a little dazed. </p><p>"Are you alright?" Evie asked. </p><p>Anthony nodded. </p><p>"Tip top," he mumbled, and gave her a weak smile. </p><p>"We've had a long day," Azariah supplied.</p><p>"G'night, Evie," Anthony added as he and Azariah headed for the lift. </p><p>"Goodnight!" Evie called after them. </p><p> </p><p>After that night, there seemed to be a change in Anthony. Little by little, he seemed more relaxed. She would hear music playing from his flat. And she wouldn't worry when he didn't return some nights, because she knew he was just spending the night with Azariah. </p><p>A few years later, Anthony moved out. She made him promise to visit, and he assured her that he was only going to be in the South Downs. He gave her a few of his prized houseplants, since he couldn't take them all with him. After all, he was going to have a garden there, anyway, he told her. </p><p>She still wasn't sure what had happened. She could have sworn she heard Anthony say something about the Devil, and once she was almost positive she saw Azariah glow. It was an enigma, but she almost didn't want to know. It was better that way. </p><p>When her time finally came, Anthony had been by her side in the hospital. It was peaceful. Her last thought as she took her last breath was that it she was sure she saw Anthony sprout wings.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a little longer than usual, but I got so invested in the story.<br/>I chose Evie's name because Evelynn=Eve, as in Adam and Eve, and Appelbaum means apple tree in German :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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